MINARI
2021 | Dir. Lee Isaac Chung | 115 Minutes
"Minari is truly the best. It grows anywhere, like weeds. So anyone can pick and eat it. Rich or poor, anyone can enjoy it and be healthy."
A Korean-American family relocates from California to Arkansas to start a new life. Jacob dreams of cultivating their plot of land to make a living farming and selling Korean produce as his wife Monica grows increasingly weary his plans. Meanwhile, their young American-born son David rejects his doting grandmother's culture and affection.
A semi-autobiographical work, writer/director Lee Isaac Chung's Minari offers an authentic perspective that is resoundingly true-to-life without sliding into melodrama. The film is refreshingly frank in its portrayal of first generation American immigrants complete with the financial hardships and conflicts of cultural identity both large and small that fray at the bonds of family. Emotionally resonant, the narrative depicts love and aspirations being put to the test by various practical circumstances.
While grandmother Soon-ja's description of the versatile and prolific qualities of the titular herb in one scene may be a bit on-the-nose, the minari plant is a perfect metaphor for immigrant families like the one featured in the film. Jacob makes the conscious decision to grow Korean vegetables in America, doing his part to carry on the culture of his people instead of shedding it to better fit in, willing to stake his livelihood on the expectation that other Korean-American immigrants, his potential customers, also intend to retain their roots. The dreamlike musical score swells during every shot of the majestically photographed farmland that Jacob toils to transform into his ideal "Garden of Eden." Monica serves as an honest reality check for Jacob, resigned to an unfulfilling job but reasonably skeptical of her husband's dream to live off the land, a dream that greatly strains their marriage particularly when he often chooses to pursue it over maintaining the immediate well-being of his family. Their conflict creates compelling true-to-life tension throughout the picture. Running parallel to Jacob and Monica's narrative, the story of David and grandmother Soon-ja's relationship is thoroughly satisfying both thematically and emotionally. Unlike his father, David is initially unable to find value in his roots, despising his grandmother as she fully embodies the concept of Korea to him, particularly dislikes her expensive imported herbal medicine meant to remedy his heart condition which hilariously juxtaposes against his favorite soft drink Mountain Dew - an endearingly specific detail. David eventually grows to love his grandmother when he discovers that her love, and possibly her medicine, strengthen his body and his heart. Particularly endearing are the scenes that take place in the creek that David and Soon-ja discover together where they grow a minari patch.
Steven Yeun and Yeri Han deliver earnest, heartfelt performances as Jacob and Monica though Alan Kim and veteran Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung truly stand out as the headstrong David and the spirited and hilariously crass grandmother. Will Patton convincingly plays the well-meaning local eccentric Paul. Drawing the short straw as Anne, Jacob and Monica's daughter, and David's older sister, Noel Kate Cho is fine in the role but unfortunately the character doesn't have much of a storyline in the picture.
Minari is a tender picture about a family persevering through uniquely American hardships. It is a highly authentic depiction of immigrants aspiring to seize the new opportunities available to them, working tirelessly to be the masters of their own destinies, struggling to make their own way by the strength of their heritage instead of abandoning it. While the story is relatively simple, it is universal in its relatability.
FRAGMENTS
- Lee Isaac Chung initially intended to adapt the novel My Antonia by Willa Cather about pioneers in late 19th century Nebraska but found out discovered that Cather objected film adaptations of her works
- The red cap Jacob wears throughout the film was a present Steven Yeun received from his mother when we was 17
- While the film won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film in 2021, controversially, it was ineligible to be nominated for the Best Drama Golden Globe due to the asinine rule established by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association that at least half of a film's dialogue must to be spoken in English in order for it to be considered for the award
